Washington Tax Fairness Coalition
Address info 1402 Third Avenue, Suite #1211 Seattle, WA 98101 206-621-8213 Website: http://wataxfairness.org/ Staff Executive Director Christy Margelli has 25 years of experience working for women's advocacy, grassroots progressive and labor organizations in New York State and Washington in variety of capacities. She has a Masters in Public Policy. Organizer Ben Secord has a BA from Whitman College. Recent Accomplishments The 75+ member Washington Tax Fairness Coalition and the Washington State Budget & Policy Center just wrapped up four months of intensive collaboration that resulted in an important and historic victory: Washington State is now the first state in the nation without a state income tax to set up a state level earned income tax credit. The Coalition led the extensive grassroots and direct lobbying effort that was -- against the odds -- successful in getting legislation to create the Working Families Credit introduced, passed in both houses of the State Legislature, and signed by Governor Christine Gregoire. All that was accomplished in a short 60-day legislative session that typically does not involve approving new or significant legislation and with virtually no time to lay any groundwork. The 2008 supplemental state budget invests $1.25 million to set up the Working Families Credit. In next year’s budget, the State Legislature will need to appropriate the funding to provide refund checks to families, starting at 5% of their federal EITC credit the first two years of the credit and then rising to 10% in year three. Once fully funded, the Working Families Credit will be the most significant improvement to the tax structure in Washington State for lower-wage workers in thirty years – since the sales tax on food was eliminated in the late 1970’s. It will give an additional tax rebate to nearly 350,000 families across Washington State. A national study released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) found that Washingtonians with the lowest income pay five times more in state and local taxes as a percentage of household earnings than the wealthiest state residents do, making Washington’s the most regressive state tax system in the nation. The Working Families Credit begins to address this inequity by giving a rebate to those who are disproportionately affected by the state’s skewed structure. Organizational members *A. Philip Randolph Institute, Seattle Chapter *AFT Washington *Amalgamated Transit Union Legislative Council *Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition *ARC of Yakima County (Disability Rights) *Audubon Washington *Center for Social Justice *Child Care Works for Washington *Children's Alliance *Children's Campaign Fund *Church Council of Greater Seattle *Citizens Campaign for Commercial Free Schools (CCCS) *Coalition for a Jewish Voice *Earth Ministry *Economic Opportunity Institute *Friends Committee on Washington State Public Policy (Quakers) *Green Party of Seattle *Group Health Senior Caucus *Human Service Executives, Snohomish County *International Union of Operating Engineers; *Classified School Employees Union, Local 609, AFL-CIO *Institute for Washington's Future *King County Alliance for Human Services *King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence *King County Labor Council; AFL-CIO *League of Women Voters of Washington *Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington *Minority Executive Directors Coalition *National Association of Social Workers; Washington State Chapter *Northwest Washington Central Labor Council *Office of Professional Employees International Union Local 8 *Olympia Fresh Pasta Company *Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane (PJALS) *Permanent Defense *Pierce County Human Services Coalition *Pierce County Labor Council, AFL-CIO *Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans *Real Change, Seattle *Retired Public Employees, Chapter 3 *Retired Public Employees Council of Washington *Seattle Community Colleges Federation of Teachers - AFT Local 1789 *Seattle Human Services Coalition *Service Employees International Union *Spokane Regional Labor Council *Statewide Poverty Action Network *TaxSanity.org *Thurston County Democratic Central Committee *Tax Payers for Washington's Future *TaxRight *United for a Fair Economy *United Steelworkers of America Local 338, Spokane *Vancouver Audubon Society *Voices for Opportunity, Income, Child Care, Education and Support in Spokane (VOICES) *Washington Association of Churches *Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention *Washington Association for the Education of Young Children *Washington Citizen Action *Washington Education Association *Washington Environmental Alliance for Voter Education (WEAVE) *Washington Federation of State Employees *Washington Living Wage Movement *Washington State Association for Community Action *Washington State Association of Head Start / ECEAP *Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence *Washington State Coalition for the Homeless *Washington State Chapter; National Organization for Women *Washington State Jobs with Justice *Washington State Labor Council *Washington State Parent Teachers Association (PTA) *Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work *Yakima County Parent Coalition for Developmental Disabilities *Yakima South Central Counties Central Labor Council *36th District Democrats *43rd District Democrats Category:Taxation Category:Organizations Category:Washington